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We Scream for Ice Cream!
by Karen Ledbetter (Karen's bio)
The wooden ice cream freezers crunched and creaked as men cranked their handles. Ladies chattered happily as they placed slices of lemon pound cake in dessert dishes. Laughter filled the air as boys and girls played tag among the shade of huge oak trees. Soon the cold, sweet, strawberry ice cream would be ready to feast upon. What a wonderful treat for a hot July afternoon in 1890!
Ice cream was all the rage at the turn of the 20th century, and it's just as popular today. Did you know that more than 900 million gallons of ice cream are made in the United States each year?
There are two kinds of ice cream. Philadelphia style ice cream is made from milk, cream, flavoring, and sugar, while custard based ice cream (also called French ice cream) contains egg yolks, too.
No one knows exactly who first ate ice cream. According to one legend, in the times before Christ was born, Alexander the Great enjoyed iced beverages. Centuries later, Nero and other Roman emperors had their slaves carry snow from the mountains and make a sweet treat by mixing the snow with fruit and honey. Fruit juices mixed with crushed ice, called "ices", were served at banquets in china, India, Persia, and Arabia.
Marco Polo tasted these fruit-flavored ices as he traveled through Asia and took many recipes back to his home in Italy in 1295.
As recipes for flavored ices spread throughout Europe during the 1500s, chefs experimented with different combinations of fruits, ice, and sweeteners. During this time someone added butter and cream, and the delicious dish was called "ice cream"!
Catherine de Medici of Italy married Henry II of France in 1553. She took her ice cream makers with her when she moved to France with her new husband, and the secret recipes were guarded in the Royal Palace for over 100 years.
Other royal families closely guarded their ice cream recipes, too. During the 1600s King Charles I of England even paid his cook to keep the recipes secret!
The first ice cream parlor opened in France in 1660 and was run by an Italian.
No one knows exactly when ice cream was first made in the United States, but during the colonial days only the rich could afford to serve the delicious dessert. The ingredients were mixed in a container. Then the container was placed in a pan of ice and salt, and it was shaken by hand until the mixture was cold and hard. These early ice cream freezers were called ice cream pots. George Washington owned two ice cream pots made of pewter.
The popularity of ice cream grew during the 1800s. Ice cream was served at President James Madison's inaugural ball in 1812. President Madison's wife, Dolley, often served this wonderful dessert at White House dinners.
After the invention of the hand-cranked ice cream freezer by Nancy Johnson, a housewife, in 1846, ice cream socials became a popular way of entertaining friends. Everyone enjoyed peach and strawberry ice cream after helping with the hard work of shaking the pans or turning the crank.
Jacob Fussel, a Baltimore milk dealer, first manufactured ice cream in the United States in 1851. He later opened plants in Washington, D.C., Boston, and New York.
As ice cream became more popular, other desserts using it were made. Fred Sanders made the first ice cream soda at his Detroit soda fountain in 1879. He discovered the cream that he mixed with carbonated water and fruit juice was sour and used ice cream instead.
Some towns had laws against serving ice cream sodas on Sunday, so syrup was poured over the ice cream. This was called the "Sunday soda" and later became known as the ice cream sundae.
Frozen treats such as Eskimo pies and Popsicles were invented during the 1920s. Tom Carvell became a millionaire after inventing an electric ice cream freezer in 1939.
Much of the ice cream that we eat today is made in a factory by combining milk, cream, sugar, and other ingredients. The finished product is any flavor imaginable (and some not so imaginable!) of ice cream that you buy at your favorite supermarket or ice cream parlor.
No matter the season, no matter the place, whether homemade or factory made, any flavor of ice cream is certainly a wonderfully delicious treat!
Copyright 2002, Karen Ledbetter. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
| About Karen Ledbetter: I'm a full-time homeschooling mom and part-time freelance writer and medical transcriptionist. I have written for Comeunity, Suite 101, BellaOnline, Childslife, and other web sites. I enjoy working with children and have taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School in the past. When not homeschooling, transcribing, or writing, I enjoy reading and taking walks. |